BY ANTHONY STEVENS
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
BRISTOL, Va. – In the final game of the Region D basketball extravaganza at Virginia High School it was Lebanon winning the Division 2 regional title. The Pioneers never trailed as they defeated Honaker 56-44 in the fourth meeting this season between the two Russell County schools, with Lebanon winning three.
In 1992 Lebanon standout Jerome Cobb was two years old. That is the last time the Pioneers won the regional in basketball.
“It’s a good feeling,” Lebanon coach Thad Lambert said. “It’s been a long time. It means a lot to these guys, they’ve worked so hard for me and the coaching staff this season. They really deserve this.”
It was another big night for Cobb. He passed a milestone when he hit a 3-pointer with 5:58 to play in the first quarter. It put Cobb over 1,000 points for his career. He totaled 12 points for Lebanon.
“This is something Jerome will remember the rest of his life,” Lambert said. “He’s been a tireless worker since he’s been a freshman and we’re really proud of him.”
It was a tough night for Honaker.
The Tigers missed their first 12 shots from the floor. They didn’t have a field goal until Clark Dye scored with one second remaining in the first quarter. Their shooting didn’t improve in the game as they shot only 22 percent in the first half.
“I don’t know,” Honaker coach Waylon Hart said. “We didn’t just miss, we had some bad misses. We had some good looks and some good players shooting but they just didn’t go in. It’s hard to figure out.”
Although Honaker struggled to make shots, the Pioneers could never put the Tigers away until the fourth quarter. Honaker kept hanging around through the first three quarters.
Lebanon led by as many as 11 points in the first half but the Tigers cut it to 27-20 at halftime.
Honaker (12-13) closed the gap to 38-32 with 2:29 to play in the third quarter when Dye converted a 3-point play. They couldn’t get any closer.
Benjamin Hendrickson and Nick Bush scored as the Pioneers began to pull away.
The Tigers missed their first eight shots in the fourth quarter and that was it. The Lebanon lead went to double digits.
The biggest problem for Lebanon (19-5) was free throws. They made only 13-of-36 attempts from the line.
“We’re fortunate to win as many free throws as we missed,” Lambert said. “I felt we could have put the game away early if we had done better from the foul line. We made just enough down the stretch to get the win.”
Sophomore Justin Brown continued to standout in the postseason for Lebanon. He scored 13 points and made two 3s in the win.
Dye led the Tigers with 14 points and also grabbed five rebounds.
Both teams will advance to the state quarterfinals next week.
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